The United States, under the Biden-Harris administration, has endured the worst border crisis in the nation’s history. Since 2021, there have been more than 10.3 million encounters of inadmissible aliens nationwide and over 8.3 million encounters at the Southwest border, specifically. Of these encounters, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) have recorded more than 520,000 encounters of unaccompanied alien children (UACs) at the Southwest border. Moreover, 388 aliens on the terrorist watchlist have been apprehended between ports of entry (POEs) at both the Southern and Northern borders since fiscal year (FY) 2021.
These numbers do not include “got-aways,” the term the CBP officers use to refer to aliens who are detected entering the United States illegally, but ultimately not apprehended. As of August 2024, at least 2 million known got-aways have evaded U.S. Border Patrol under this administration’s policies.
The administration’s failure to effectively enforce the nation’s immigration laws and deter illegal immigration has put public safety at risk. As of August 2024, 382 individuals whose names appear on the terrorist watchlist were stopped trying to cross the U.S.-Mexico border between ports of entry since FY 2021. So far this year, CBP has arrested at least 33,379 aliens with criminal convictions or outstanding warrants nationwide, including 478 known gang members.